Sara Coleman B.S. '01
College Alumna Creates a Sweet Niche in Downtown Raleigh
February 26, 2009
Some call her the 'cupcake lady,' but for the North Carolina State University College of Management, Sara Coleman is a perfect example of how its graduates leverage the knowledge gained during their studies to launch a career and if so inclined, a new business.
During her first six years after graduation, Coleman was part of the Johnson & Johnson corporate sales team, moving with promotions that took her from Atlanta to New Jersey, New York, and other regions.
In 2006, she left the corporate world and launched a venture that allowed her to tap her creative side, blending a love of baking with a strong interest ‘in the entrepreneurial side of business,’ Coleman said.
Her new venture, The Cupcake Shoppe Bakery at 104 Glenwood Avenue in the growing downtown Raleigh area, ended 2008 on a strong note and continues to sell between 5,000 and 6,000 of its unique creations to walk-in customers at its South Glenwood area store every week.
Indoor seating and specialty cookies add to the cupcake options and help keep customers stopping in throughout the day and into the evening. The shop is open Tuesday through Thursday, from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m., and 10 a.m. until 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Walk-in clients include business professionals who work downtown, college students, stay-at-home moms, and others.
“We get a lot of people stopping in after dinner,” she said. “For some, it’s the nostalgia of a cupcake, something they remember from their childhood. Others like the idea of a small personal dessert,” she said. The ingredients are also a draw. “They are all fresh, all whole, no mixes, no lard, and we bake everything fresh every morning,” she said.
The shop also has a thriving catering business, serving up cupcakes at corporate events, weddings, and other occasions. Valentine’s Day was particularly busy, she said.
Coleman and her team – two full time bakers and three part time bakers who help on weekends and with catering orders – mix up 12 to 15 different types of cupcakes each day, with a new specialty cupcake featured each week.
“We have been open two years and haven’t repeated a ‘Flavor of the Week’ yet,” she said. The most popular flavors are Pretty in Pink, a strawberry cake with fresh strawberry icing, and Big Red, a red velvet cake with cream cheese icing. The most unusual is Black Sea Salt, a brown sugar cake with sea salt icing. “It’s an interesting juxtaposition of sweet and salty,” she said.
Diversifying her customer base and offering a ‘baked from scratch’ product that people want has helped keep recessionary forces at bay, she said. “I think it helps that we offer a small luxury item,” she said. “People are still going to celebrate their birthdays, get married and give small gifts to their clients.”
Business savvy has helped her launch the business and keep it steadily growing. “The skills I learned on the organizational level were easily transferred to the personal business level,” she said. “I was fortunate in that I worked in different departments of the organization, in marketing, HR, finance, so I got to touch all aspects of business while I was at Johnson & Johnson.” She was able to transfer the knowledge gained while working with the global corporation to her new shop nestled in Raleigh’s South Glenwood community, which has been growing steadily as part of the revitalized greater downtown Raleigh area.
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Sara Coleman B.S. '01
"Cupcake Lady"
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